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| Omar, Mehbooba trade charges over backdoor appointments | | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, June 26: A political storm erupted in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday as Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti traded sharp accusations over alleged backdoor appointments in government departments, with both leaders accusing each other of presiding over irregular recruitments during their respective tenures.
Rejecting Mehbooba Mufti's allegation that the National Conference (NC)-led government had made nearly 25,000 backdoor appointments over the past 25 months, Omar Abdullah challenged the former chief minister to produce evidence and accused the PDP of indulging in large-scale illegal recruitments during its alliance government with the BJP between 2014 and 2018.
A day after Mehbooba levelled the allegations, Omar hit back by recalling the appointment of the son of her maternal uncle, Sartaj Madni.
"Have we forgotten that Mehbooba Mufti's maternal uncle, Sartaj Madni's son, was appointed through the backdoor and was later removed following court orders?" Omar asked while responding to the allegations.
The Chief Minister said he was willing to answer any charge backed by credible evidence.
"I am ready to respond if any allegation is backed by evidence. Give me the name of even one person who has been appointed through the backdoor under my government, and I will clarify. But I will not respond to baseless charges," he said.
Launching a counterattack, Omar described the PDP's allegations as "a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black."
"Those who brazenly indulged in large-scale backdoor appointments during their tenure from 2014 to 2018 are now raising questions about backdoor appointments. The maximum number of illegal and backdoor appointments in Jammu and Kashmir were made during the PDP-BJP regime," he alleged.
Referring to the recruitment controversy in the Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Omar claimed that hundreds of appointments made during the PDP-BJP government's tenure were still under investigation.
"The investigating agencies are still probing those appointments," he said, adding that senior ministers in his government would soon place before the public details of the alleged backdoor appointments made during the previous regime.
The political row was triggered after Mehbooba Mufti alleged on Thursday that around 25,000 appointments had been made through the "backdoor" during the 25-month tenure of the National Conference-led government by bypassing the established recruitment process.
She claimed that vacancies in various government departments were filled through private outsourcing agencies without transparency or public advertisement.
"There have been about 25,000 backdoor appointments in 25 months. I have the appointment orders, but I do not want to disclose the identities of those appointed for their protection," Mehbooba said.
According to the PDP chief, regular government vacancies were allegedly distributed among ministers, MLAs and alliance partners.
"These vacancies were distributed among ministers, MLAs and alliance partners. In my opinion, the BJP also has a share in this, which is why it is silent and not raising any hue and cry over the issue," she alleged.
Mehbooba further claimed that complaints received by her party indicated candidates were allegedly asked to pay between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh to secure government jobs.
"The allegations that have come to us are that money was collected from candidates and distributed through this process," she said.
She also alleged that nearly 200 private outsourcing agencies had been engaged to facilitate the appointments.
According to Mehbooba, selected candidates were asked to submit applications through websites opened only for a brief period before being shut, thereby preventing other eligible aspirants from applying.
She further claimed that lists of candidates were allegedly collected from ministers and legislators and forwarded to outsourcing agencies through officials in different government departments.
The PDP president also alleged that no public advertisements were issued and no competitive selection process was followed.
"I have not seen any advertisement in newspapers regarding these appointments. Wherever interviews were conducted, no other candidates were interviewed. Only those selected through this process were considered," she alleged.
The allegations have added a fresh dimension to the political confrontation between the ruling National Conference and the opposition PDP, with both sides accusing each other of patronising illegal appointments during their respective tenures. However, neither side has so far placed documentary evidence in the public domain to substantiate its claims. |
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